Tourism in Mauritania
Encyclopedia
Tourism is currently on lockdown due to the terriost attacks taken place over the last couple of years.
, Chinguetti
, Oualata
and Tichitt are a vestige of a rich past, that of the Trans-Saharan trade which made these cities part of the city-relays between North Africa and the Black Africa
through the Sahara. These cities had a profound religious and cultural influence.
The towns of Chinguetti and Ouadane are in Adrar, the town of Tichitt is in Tagant and Oualata in Hodh EChargui. These four cities were relays on the long routes of the caravans, by which passed part of the trade between North Africa and the Black Africa and lasted for centuries.
The arrival of Europeans on the coasts of Africa gradually diverted commerce towards trading posts which were created little by little on the coasts thus causing the ruin of these cities.
, 90 km and 120 km from Ouadane.
Atar is located less than 100 kilometres from, the capital of the area of Adrar, Chinguetti. It is now more accessible since the opening of the new trail, which is more viable than the old one, which goes through the Amogjar pass.
Regarded as the 7th Holy City of Islam
, Chinguetti was a religious centre and famous intellectual with many Koranic schools and universities. The city attracted many scientists. A caravan city, Chinguetti played a significant commercial role. It was especially a stop over for the pilgrims going to Mecca
.
The influence of Chinguetti largely exceeded the borders of current Mauritania. Its scholars were renowned as far as the Orient. As a matter of fact Mauritania was known as the "Bilad Chenguetti". The city reached its apogee during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Today Chinguetti is a city mostly buried under the dunes. It offers an impressive spectacle for the visitor who will note the inexorable advances of the desert. Some rare constructions still remain in the old city, of which the mosque which dates from the 13th century with its rectangular minaret.
The Libraries of Chinguetti contain hundreds of invaluable manuscripts and well preserved according to traditional methods. They are jealously protected family libraries.
Recommended places to visit: the Mosque and the Libraries, the colonial Fort (Fort Saganne known from the film)
Ouadane, or the city of the " two oueds" is an old city whose foundation would date back to 1140. It knew its moments of splendours as a flourishing caravan city for the Trans-Saharan trade. It was the most significant city of the Mauritanian Sahara . Its rich palm plantations were famous. It had seven mosques and large libraries. The city was visited by the Portuguese as early as the 17th century. They established trade with the inhabitants. Ouadane reached its apogee during the 17th century. Its decline started with the massive diversion of the trade to the coasts by the Europeans towards the end of the 17th century.
UNESCO
classifies the city as part of the World Inheritance to humanity. In the middle of the desert, Ouadane seems lost in the great expanse of the Sahara
. The disappearance of caravans brought about the decline of this city.
Ouadane offers exceptional landscapes because of its geographical situation. Ouadane attracts visitors by the architecture of its houses built in cliffs. Today, tourism offers to Ouadane a new chance to rise again.
The local economy benefits from this activity with the multiplication of inns and small restaurants.
Recommended places to visit: the old mosque, the palm plantation, the old city. As far as other surrounding sites to see somee vestiges it is necessary to go to Tin Labbe, there is also the mysterious Guelb Errichat, and the meteorite studied by Theodore Monod, El Beyedh and the Fort of El Ghallaouya. All that within a radius of 80 km maximum.
, Tichitt is 400 km and Tidjikja
is 700 km.
Oualata is located north of Nema at less than a hundred kilometres. Oualata is and old city is famous for its libraries, its immutable architecture and its mural decorations. It is one of the most beautiful towns of Mauritania because of its environment; it is at the foot of the Dhar. The stone-built houses have an original architecture. Paintings with various motifs decorate the houses.
Oualata was an active city during the Middle Ages
. It was built on the sites of Birou, another old city. It is thought that Oualata was built at the beginning of the 11th century. It was a caravan city and a stop over city. Oualata knew moments of splendours. It was a great arts and religious centre, competitor to Timbuktu
.
Recommended places to visit: the Koranic school, the fort of Oualata, the library, the works of decoration at private individuals.
To discover is the local gastronomy which very appreciated by all the visitors.
is 400 km from Tidjikja of Oualata and 490 km to Nema.
One day of travel from Tidjikja or 12 to 14 hours. It is the most isolated old city. Classified as Inheritance to Humanity, Tichitt is a very old city. But its history is best-known beginning in the middle of the 12th century.
Caravan city, Tichitt was a commercial metropolis in the Sahara. With its rich silos, its irrigated agriculture, Tichitt were visited caravans and merchants from Hodh, from Tagant
but also of North Africa and Black Africa. The city was also famous for its libraries, its scholars and for its 700 year old mosque.
Tichitt is in fact less known because it was not visited as frequently as other old cities. It is however a city representative of the old architecture. On the road between Tichitt and Tidjikja, there are several canyons, cliffs and cave paintings.
Places recommended to visit: the mosque, Chorfa and Massena districts and in July, there is the Guetna or curing of the dates .
32 km away there is Aghreijitt and there one can visit sites dating from the Neolithic era, burials sites as well as its ruins and Mosque. In the middle of the cliffs one finds the remainders of old villages: potteries, archaeological objects and don't forget the SALINES (EMERSAL), which are still exploited by the cameleers.
Ancient cities
The old cities of OuadaneOuadane
Ouadane or Wadan is a small town in the desert region of central Mauritania, situated on the southern edge of the Adrar Plateau, 93 km northeast of Chinguetti. The town was a staging post in the trans-Saharan trade and for caravans transporting slabs of salt from the mines at Idjil. A...
, Chinguetti
Chinguetti
Chinguetti is a ksar or medieval trading centre in northern Mauritania, lying on the Adrar Plateau east of Atar.Founded in the 13th century, as the center of several trans-Saharan trade routes, this tiny city continues to attract a handful of visitors who admire its spare architecture, exotic...
, Oualata
Oualata
Oualata or Walata is a small oasis town in south east Mauritania that was important in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as the southern terminus of a trans-Saharan trade route...
and Tichitt are a vestige of a rich past, that of the Trans-Saharan trade which made these cities part of the city-relays between North Africa and the Black Africa
Black Africa
Black Africa is a Namibian football team from Katutura, Windhoek that plays in the Namibia Premier League.-Achievements:*Namibia Premier League: 6*NFA-Cup: 3-Performance in CAF competitions:...
through the Sahara. These cities had a profound religious and cultural influence.
The towns of Chinguetti and Ouadane are in Adrar, the town of Tichitt is in Tagant and Oualata in Hodh EChargui. These four cities were relays on the long routes of the caravans, by which passed part of the trade between North Africa and the Black Africa and lasted for centuries.
The arrival of Europeans on the coasts of Africa gradually diverted commerce towards trading posts which were created little by little on the coasts thus causing the ruin of these cities.
Chinguetti
Chinguetti is 90 km from AtarAtar
Atar is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" ....
, 90 km and 120 km from Ouadane.
Atar is located less than 100 kilometres from, the capital of the area of Adrar, Chinguetti. It is now more accessible since the opening of the new trail, which is more viable than the old one, which goes through the Amogjar pass.
Regarded as the 7th Holy City of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Chinguetti was a religious centre and famous intellectual with many Koranic schools and universities. The city attracted many scientists. A caravan city, Chinguetti played a significant commercial role. It was especially a stop over for the pilgrims going to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
.
The influence of Chinguetti largely exceeded the borders of current Mauritania. Its scholars were renowned as far as the Orient. As a matter of fact Mauritania was known as the "Bilad Chenguetti". The city reached its apogee during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Today Chinguetti is a city mostly buried under the dunes. It offers an impressive spectacle for the visitor who will note the inexorable advances of the desert. Some rare constructions still remain in the old city, of which the mosque which dates from the 13th century with its rectangular minaret.
The Libraries of Chinguetti contain hundreds of invaluable manuscripts and well preserved according to traditional methods. They are jealously protected family libraries.
Recommended places to visit: the Mosque and the Libraries, the colonial Fort (Fort Saganne known from the film)
Ouadane
Ouadane is 120 km from Atar, approximately 4 hours of trail to Chinguetti; Atar is 200 km.Ouadane, or the city of the " two oueds" is an old city whose foundation would date back to 1140. It knew its moments of splendours as a flourishing caravan city for the Trans-Saharan trade. It was the most significant city of the Mauritanian Sahara . Its rich palm plantations were famous. It had seven mosques and large libraries. The city was visited by the Portuguese as early as the 17th century. They established trade with the inhabitants. Ouadane reached its apogee during the 17th century. Its decline started with the massive diversion of the trade to the coasts by the Europeans towards the end of the 17th century.
UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
classifies the city as part of the World Inheritance to humanity. In the middle of the desert, Ouadane seems lost in the great expanse of the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
. The disappearance of caravans brought about the decline of this city.
Ouadane offers exceptional landscapes because of its geographical situation. Ouadane attracts visitors by the architecture of its houses built in cliffs. Today, tourism offers to Ouadane a new chance to rise again.
The local economy benefits from this activity with the multiplication of inns and small restaurants.
Recommended places to visit: the old mosque, the palm plantation, the old city. As far as other surrounding sites to see somee vestiges it is necessary to go to Tin Labbe, there is also the mysterious Guelb Errichat, and the meteorite studied by Theodore Monod, El Beyedh and the Fort of El Ghallaouya. All that within a radius of 80 km maximum.
Oulata
Oulata is 90 km from NemaNema
Nema is an occultist and writer best known for her magical writings about the Ma'atian current. She has been practising and writing about magick for over twenty-five years...
, Tichitt is 400 km and Tidjikja
Tidjikja
Tidjikja is the capital of the Tagant region of central Mauritania, lying on the Tagant plateau. Founded in 1680, it has a population of around 6,000 people.The town is known for its palm trees and its vernacular architecture...
is 700 km.
Oualata is located north of Nema at less than a hundred kilometres. Oualata is and old city is famous for its libraries, its immutable architecture and its mural decorations. It is one of the most beautiful towns of Mauritania because of its environment; it is at the foot of the Dhar. The stone-built houses have an original architecture. Paintings with various motifs decorate the houses.
Oualata was an active city during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. It was built on the sites of Birou, another old city. It is thought that Oualata was built at the beginning of the 11th century. It was a caravan city and a stop over city. Oualata knew moments of splendours. It was a great arts and religious centre, competitor to Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
.
Recommended places to visit: the Koranic school, the fort of Oualata, the library, the works of decoration at private individuals.
To discover is the local gastronomy which very appreciated by all the visitors.
Tichit
TichitTichit
Tichit is a partly abandoned village at the foot of the Tagant Plateau in central southern Mauritania that is known for its vernacular architecture...
is 400 km from Tidjikja of Oualata and 490 km to Nema.
One day of travel from Tidjikja or 12 to 14 hours. It is the most isolated old city. Classified as Inheritance to Humanity, Tichitt is a very old city. But its history is best-known beginning in the middle of the 12th century.
Caravan city, Tichitt was a commercial metropolis in the Sahara. With its rich silos, its irrigated agriculture, Tichitt were visited caravans and merchants from Hodh, from Tagant
Tagant
Tagant is a region in south-central Mauritania named for the Tagant Plateau. Its capital is Tidjikdja. Other major cities/towns include Tichit and Rachid, Nbeika...
but also of North Africa and Black Africa. The city was also famous for its libraries, its scholars and for its 700 year old mosque.
Tichitt is in fact less known because it was not visited as frequently as other old cities. It is however a city representative of the old architecture. On the road between Tichitt and Tidjikja, there are several canyons, cliffs and cave paintings.
Places recommended to visit: the mosque, Chorfa and Massena districts and in July, there is the Guetna or curing of the dates .
32 km away there is Aghreijitt and there one can visit sites dating from the Neolithic era, burials sites as well as its ruins and Mosque. In the middle of the cliffs one finds the remainders of old villages: potteries, archaeological objects and don't forget the SALINES (EMERSAL), which are still exploited by the cameleers.